


realization.

by clarkelance



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-11
Updated: 2018-09-11
Packaged: 2019-07-10 17:57:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15954563
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clarkelance/pseuds/clarkelance
Summary: after seeing harper and monty's life together, bellamy makes an important decision about his future.





	realization.

Family had always been set in Bellamy's world, constant, never more than he, his mother and Octavia. Having a sister meant having a secret all his life long, and on the Ark, that had meant never creating his own. Opening up his secret to another living person meant endangering the family that had he had been born into. While other people of the same age began to explore partnerships and snuck in and out of one another's homes, he refused to. It was terrifying to think of losing what he had, and yet that loss had come despite shying away from inviting anyone into his world. A foolish decision to allow Octavia a night to herself cost them everything, quickly turning three to two, to one. Quiet desperation ruled until the moment he had been given the chance to accompany Octavia to the ground, which he had done even despite the cost. 

 

On the ground, his family of two had remained, his choices revolving around caring for his sister. Again, he had not stopped to consider his own. In reality he hadn't stopped at all, only grown and regressed, only putting self desires ahead of his family. Six years in space had brought things into perspective, had allowed him to grow without the hindrance of being responsible for others. The family he had forged in space was different, based on mutual need and exchange, and had been a choice. There was no fear that a single secret would tear them apart, or that history would repeat itself. It hadn't, though loss had found them nonetheless.

 

Monty and Harper had challenged the impossible, had chosen to ignore that loving and creating a family was against the odds. Grief flooded Bellamy's thoughts as he had come to the realization that he wouldn't see them again, but in the same breath, it was hard not to be happy for them. They had been granted time together, enough to have a son and enough to live. It was more than most could have anticipated in the cells on the Ark, doomed to have been floated after their eighteenth birthday. It was a success story among failures, deaths and loss. The knowledge that they had one another was enough for him to be at peace. Even as he'd stared out as the world burned, he felt his perception of things begin to shift. 

 

Hundreds of years had passed, and though he had not been awake to experience all of it, he still felt restless. _He knew what the source of it was_. 

 

"There's something I have to do."

 

Bellamy announced, leaving Clarke and Jordan behind on the bridge, retracting his arm with a soft smile.

 

* * *

 

 

His palm rested against the glass against the tank, awaiting for the woman inside to be awoken. 

 

_Echo_.

 

Bellamy read the name on the vitals screen with fondness, though he knew what he'd have to say when her eyes finally opened.

 

It took some time, but he saw her stir, and it was then that he pulled back the glass that kept them apart. Waking up was an odd feeling, and not one he had gone through alone, nor would he leave her to. His hand found her hair, gently stroking her temple — it was cooler than it had been the last time he'd touched her. "Hey, Good morning." Bellamy said playfully, drawing a confused half smile from the waking woman in front of him. He gave her time to stretch, to settle into wakefulness before he helped her out. 

 

"Is it really morning?"

 

She answered, slinging her legs over to touch the ground. He stood next to her, hoping she would have as easy of a time standing as he had. Either way, with his hand on the small of her back, Bellamy wouldn't allow her to topple over. 

 

"I can't really tell up here, but now it's already been spoken into existence. So yeah."

 

He replied with a chuckle, right by her side as she stood. Once he realized he wasn't needed, he took a step back to reclose the tank she had occupied, switching off the screen's display. It wasn't needed for now.

 

"How long has it been?" Her question drew him closer, with an arm around her waist. "It's been a long time — a lifetime, maybe two."

 

The surprise in her gaze was expected as she turned back toward him, and he knew an explanation was needed.

 

"We need to talk."

 

* * *

 

 

Echo's brow furrowed as he admitted the truth, having offered her a place to sit before doing so.

 

"So they're... gone?" 

 

Bellamy nodded, his hands stroking the back of her own, fingertips brushing her wrist. Monty and Harper had been more than his family, they'd been hers too, and loss affected them all. Her face fell, and he took her into his arms, palms against her back. "They lived as long as they could together." He said softly, stroking the middle of her clothed back. "And they had a son — he's pretty grown up." They remained like that, close, taking comfort in one another in ways only they could. He'd missed her warmth.

 

He felt her turn, settling into the space between his neck and shoulder. Her breath was uneven, unmistakably affected by the news of losing their friends. 

 

"They left us all a video, it was a collection of all of their years together. It got hard to watch toward the end, but I'm glad they had one another. They had a life I never expected would be possible... for any of us." Not for them, not for him. He had only begun to consider the possibilities, what a life could be like unburdened by some of their past worries, what leaving a legacy behind meant. For once, Bellamy had some idea of what he wanted. He thought it better to pull her close and attempt to soothe. He'd never been much good at it before, but if he was still sub par, Echo never said so.

 

"What about everyone else?"

 

She inquired from his shoulder quietly, her hand settling against his chest. Her hand found his heartbeat as it usually did, impeded only by the presence of his shirt. 

 

"Everyone but Clarke is still asleep. They asked for us to be woken first."

 

His hand traced circles across her back absentmindedly, comfortable with her in his arms. 

 

" _Why did you wake me?_ "

 

It was a curious question, she didn't sound upset. Besides the news, and besides the need for comfort and to comfort, he'd awoken her for a specific reason.

 

"I **needed** to." He said, leaning down to brush lips against her shoulder. "I saw their lives together, and I saw something I wanted. For a long time, I never even considered what having my own family would be like. I was selfish, and when I wasn't selfish I was living for someone else. Most of my live revolved around Octavia — giving everything up for her because I knew that's what she needed. Space was the first time I felt like I could breathe... and then I met you." 

 

"It changed things for me." Bellamy said, reaching up to stroke her cheek. "I'm a better man for having known you, and I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you. I don't want to think of where else I might be — ever again." He felt her shift, then, and before he could take another breath, they were facing one another. His thumb stroked her jawline, a small privilege he'd missed.

 

As his gaze lifted, from his fingers to her lips to her eyes, he knew waking her had been the right choice. "I don't want to be without you again. I want you, I want a family with you... something of our own. I'm ready for that, whenever you're ready — if that's something you want." 

 

" _Beja._  Snap kom dalop, nami." She answered playfully, brow quirked, brushing fingers across his bearded chin. ( _Please, what took you so long?_   )

 

The sight drew a chuckle from him, pressing forward to steal a kiss from smirking lips. He enjoyed seeing her so smug, still. They parted to breathe, forehead resting against hers, noses brushing softly. "I'm slower than you, you know it."

 

This time it was Echo who laughed, sliding her hands inside of his shirt, pressing him down to show him just how much he'd been missed.

 

* * *

 

 

When Bellamy woke — _from an ordinary sleep this time_  — he slid from Echo's arms and tucked a blanket around her bare body. She slept soundly to his relief, no longer worried that the longer slumber had affected her. Over the past few hours, they had certainly earned themselves some rest. She didn't stir as he slid his clothes on, leaving to fetch some water. He did so, eager to return, sensing how quiet the rest of the ship was. 

 

He stopped in the doorway of the cryo beds, pausing in thought, then choosing to enter. Bellamy returned to where he had woken Echo from, touching over the display next to it. Her name stared back at him, drawing his attention. His fingers pressed against the screen, toying with it, then stepping away from the light glow. His lips curled in a smile at the mended name staring back at him, the first of what he could only hope to be many additions to **his** family.

 

_Echo Blake_.

 

**Author's Note:**

> echo deserves to be happy and that's why i'm here.  
> if you read this hoping or thinking it would be a breakup, fooled ya.  
> and it's my first time writing in bellamy's pov.


End file.
